Alimony Information

Alimony is an obligation established by law in most states that a spouse must support their mate during the marriage unless they are legally separated. Traditionally women have focused their support on the maintenance of the home, raising of children and care of husband. Their focus historically, has not been in the form of financial support of the family. However, over the years, women have become an equally contributing factor in the financial support of the family and in some cases the traditional roles of men and women are reversed, with the wife providing a considerable amount of the financial support. Accordingly the laws have changed and women may be required to pay alimony, or alimony may be refused or greatly reduced due to the role of the woman during the marriage. However, more often it is the husband who the court orders to pay alimony to the wife.

Maryland takes into consideration the following guidelines when determining alimony to the deserving party:

• The ability of the party seeking alimony to be wholly or partly self-supporting;
• The time necessary for the party seeking alimony to gain sufficient education or training to enable that party to find suitable employment;
• The standard of living that the parties established during their marriage;
• The duration of the marriage;
• The contributions, monetary and non-monetary, of each party to the well-being of the family;
• The circumstances that contributed to the estrangement of the parties;
• The age of each party;
• The physical and mental condition of each party;
• The ability of the party from whom alimony is sought to meet that party’s needs while meeting the needs of the party seeking alimony;
• Any agreement between the parties’;

The financial needs and financial resources of each party, including;

• All income and assets, including property that does not produce income;
• Any award of property made by the court;
• The nature and amount of the financial obligations of each party; and
• The right of each party to receive retirement benefits; and

12. Whether the award would cause a spouse who is a resident of a related institution as
defined in Section 19-301 of the Health-General Article and from whom alimony is sought
to become eligible for medical assistance earlier than would otherwise occur. (11-106 of
the Maryland Code)

Alimony is not to be confused with child support. In the past alimony was awarded permanently, however this practice has slowly evolved over the years with the goal of helping to get a spouse (husband or wife) on their feet to where they are able to support themselves. Child support is specifically paid to the spouse holding custody of the children to be used in raising the children. Typically, alimony is awarded to marriages which lasted 10 years or more, or when one of the spouses earns substantially more than the other spouse. Please keep in mind the ability of the paying spouse to pay the receiving spouse. Marital fault is not typically considered when awarding alimony.

“Pendente lite” alimony is awarded during the waiting period for a limited divorce. This is an award by the court to the receiving spouse so that they may continue to live comfortably till the final decree of divorce. This in no way means that the amount will be the same in the final divorce decree. Under Maryland law the husband has a duty to support his wife and the wife has a duty to support her husband. Separation does not mean this duty stops. The final decree will determine the outcome of permanent or a set period of alimony support. Once a decree is set forth in the state of Maryland it can not be changed. Any claim is extinguished once the divorce is final.

There are two types of alimony in the state of Maryland, rehabilitative and indefinite.

Rehabilitative is a short term alimony intended to give the receiving spouse time to get on their feet. The receiving spouse for example may be the wife who supported the family by raising the children, maintaining a household and supporting the husband. This will give the wife time to go to school or to acquire skills which will assist her in her ability to support herself. Typically the spouse who took on the role of the homemaker has not been able to develop skills which will make them marketable in a competitive job market. The marital status of the receiving party may also change or totally stop the rehabilitative alimony.

Permanent or indefinite alimony is generally granted until the death of the party receiving the alimony. This party is usually unable to work due to a mental or physical disability. Today these are generally rarely awarded. As stated mental or physical illness must be proved or a substantially large difference in living standards between the two parties must be shown. These types of awards may be changed in the future or totally terminated.

Alimony payments are both tax deductible to the payee and taxable to the recipient. Often parties will present the court with an agreement regarding alimony and distribution of assets. The court will be bound by this agreement. At times the agreement between spouses may be considerably more generous than what the court may order. Of course it is to the benefit of both parties to settle their monetary differences prior to the final decree. Having a lawyer experienced in negotiating a settlement is to your benefit in this complicated process.

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